Dream in Dostoevskij.

Dostoevskij's reputation as a metaphysical novelist depends primarily on his relentless efforts to understand the complexities of the human condition. Equally important are the literary means he uses to present his ideas. The dream is one of the most important devices Dostoevskij used in his works. The extraordinary number of pages he devotes to dreams of many sorts implies his awareness of the device's efficacy to express a variety of concerns. This dissertation identified all dreams in Dostoevskij's works, studies the device's effectiveness in a particular work, analyzes its evolution, and demonstrates the technique's refineness as a proof of Dostoevskij's growing talent. The dissertation consists of five chapters, a conclusion, an appendix, and a select bibliography. Chapter One discusses early Russian attempts to incorporate dream into its national literature, studies the characteristics of the dreams used in the literary works before Dostoevskij, and their influence on the author. Chapter Two discusses Dostoevskij's use of different types and forms of dreams in the early works, his preparation to use them for better, more ambitious purposes, and his gradual mastery of the technique. The dreams in Crime and Punishment explore the depths of human psychology, particularly the depths of the criminal mind. Chapter Three attempts to prove that these dreams parallel events in the novel, and thereby reinforce the path to Raskol'nikov's regeneration. Chapter Four deals with the textual analysis of dreams in The Idiot, The Eternal Husband, and The Brothers Karamazov. Chapter Five discusses dreams of the Golden Age, which are recurrent in Dostoevskij's work, particularly in the novels written during the last ten years of his life. They combine the age-old myth of eternal rebirth with Christian elements related to the dynamic of death and rebirth both for polemical purposes and to reveal the relation of human beings to nature.Ph.D.Language, Literature and LinguisticsPhilosophy of ReligionPhilosophy, Religion and TheologyPsychologySlavic literatureUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/128574/2/9034452.pd